Best Games of 2015: Super Mario Maker

When LittleBIGPlanet launched on the PS3 in 2008, it opened up endless possibilities in creative level design. The developers were giving players the chance to not only recreate levels that they themselves designed, but also completely new, and creative ones that utilized the game's powerful creation tools in unique ways. Nowadays, player creation isn't all that unique anymore, but it's not always accessible. Disney Infinity, a game primarily for kids, still has completely convoluted and difficult to understand level creation tools, and it's already been three games.

That wasn't the case for Nintendo's entry into level creation. Super Mario Maker is both an accessible, yet incredibly powerful tool to create your very own Mario levels. Anyone can pick up and create a level within minutes, regardless of skill level. However, those who truly delve into the tools and figure out creative ways they can work together, can create some truly insane levels.

The reason why Super Mario Maker is so accessible is because despite making your own levels from scratch, the game itself feels familiar. Chances are that at some point in your life, you've played a Mario game or two, so you're already familiar with how levels work, which is a huge credit to the game itself. But then small touches like making object bigger by dragging a mushroom on them, or having a Goomba riding Koopa Troopa by simply dragging the one on top of the other not only feels natural, it makes sense.

Nintendo is also giving lots of great support to Super Mario Maker, with a few updates adding new items and new mechanics for level creators. For those that have always wanted to dabble in a game that features content creation, I honestly can't think of a better one.

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